The steed pictured here—the Factor 001—is one of the most exclusive bicycles in the world, and its significance related to the automotive world is that it's built by BERU f1systems, a Norfolk, U.K.-based company which supplies Formula 1 teams with force measurement, tire pressure management and wiring harnesses.

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Since the engineers at BERU wanted to build the "ultimate riding machine," they didn't concern themselves with conforming to traditional racing rules, which in turn let them be exceedingly creative. As such, every piece of the Factor 001 was built from scratch, aside from the Shimano Di2 electronic gear shifters. So let me get this straight: These guys build a bike from the ground up, whereas I'm just happy if I can successfully adjust my front derailleur...

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Aside from the fact the bike is pretty much all carbon-composite components, what's most notable is the Factor 001's unique "twin-vein" design of the down tube and seat tube, which are said to substantially improve lateral stiffness.

Other cool features include a hydraulic disc brake system, which is quite rare for a road bicycle (despite this, the Factor 001 still weighs only 16.3 lb.). By the way, carbon-ceramic rotors are optional. The Factor 001 owes its clean appearance to the fact that all the cables and wires have been embedded into the frame.

Every bike will be custom-built to each owner's exact specifications, at a cost of about $33,000 (guess I won't be upgrading from my Felt F1 road bike anytime soon!). BERU f1systems is planning a very limited run of only about 100 bikes, and they're on sale now. Nice thing about bicycles, you don't have to worry about any federalization problems; BERU f1systems will ship the bicycles anywhere.